Latest News

Rushil Ugarkar holds his nerve to give MI New York second MLC title in last-over finish

Published

7 months ago

2025/07/14

Priyan

Nicholas Pooran holds up the trophy as his teammates celebrate [Cricinfo]

It went down to the last over: 12 to get from six balls for either MI New York or Washington Freedom to win their MLC title. Rushil Ugarkar, a 22-year-old USA medium pacer who has never played international cricket, had the ball. Across him, Glenn Maxwell, to start with, and Glenn Phillips. Two white-ball superstars. But all Ugarkar conceded was six. And he sent back Maxwell with a slower offcutter, allowed Phillips strike for just one ball, and won MINY the title when everything was stacked against him.

Till that over started, the momentum was very much with Freedom and it was chiefly down to Phillips. At the end of the 17th over, in which Trent Boult had conceded just seven runs to Phillips and Maxwell, and Phillips was 25 from 27, the asking rate was upwards of 13 an over. But Phillips targeted Tristan Luus and Boult in back-to-back overs. He took Luus for two sixes in the 17-run 18th over, and Boult for one more in the next, which went for 12, making it a potentially gripping last over. But he got to face just one ball from Ugarkar, who bowled a set of six cutters to spark the celebrations in the MINY camp.

The chase started with Boult picking up two wickets in the first over of the innings to dent Freedom. However, to be fair, despite opener Rachin Ravindra scoring 70 from 41 balls after early jitters and Jack Edwards chipping in with 33 from 22, the Freedom innings didn’t seem to find the next gear they needed till Phillips got going. Maxwell, not for the first time this tournament – he largely struggled apart from when he scored 106* in a win over Texas Super Kings back on June 17 – couldn’t get the scoreboard moving at the rate required. And three MINY bowlers, including Ugarkar, went at eight an over or fewer, with Tajinder Singh’s three overs costing just 18 runs.

Ravindra, another player who had a lean run in MLC 2025 – he had crossed 18 just once before this game, when he scored 32 against Seattle Orcas – did raise his game for the big occasion, standing firm even as wickets fell around him at the start, and hitting two sixes and eight fours in his 170.73-strike-rate knock. The partnership with Edwards was worth 84 in 45 balls, and gave Freedom a platform to launch from. But the next partnership, with Phillips, was of 46 runs, and took 42 balls. Perhaps where the game was lost.

In the first half, after Freedom captain Maxwell opted to field, MINY had the best possible start, with Quinton de Kock and Monank Patel – who finished as the top rungetter in the tournament – adding 72 runs in just 44 balls.

De Kock was the aggressor in that stand, as he was in the third-wicket stand of 56 off 35 balls with Nicholas Pooran, where he scored 32 in 18 balls to Pooran’s 17-ball 21.

De Kock’s innings ended on 77 from 46 balls, and though there wasn’t much after he fell in the 17th over – one of Lockie Ferguson’s three wickets – apart from Kunwarjeet Singh’s unbeaten 22 from 13 balls, MINY were better placed heading into the break. And they stayed there despite the best efforts from Ravindra and Phillips, and they have Ugarkar to thank for it.

Brief scores:
MI New York 180 for 7 in 20 overs (Monak Patel 28, Quinton De Kock 77, Tajinder Singh 14, Nicholas Pooran 21, Kunwarjeet Singh 22*; Saurabh Netvalkar 1-31, Glenn Maxwell 1-46, Jack Edwards 1-38, Lockie Ferguson 3-21, Ian Holland 1-14) beat Washington Freedom 175 for 5 in 20 overs (Rachin Ravindra 70, Jack Edwards 33, Glenn Phillips 48*, Glenn Maxwell 15; , Rushi Ugarkar 2-32, Trent Boult 2-32, Nosthush Kenjige 1-30) by five runs

[Cricinfo]

All News Advertisement

Latest News

Former Minister Professor Tissa Vitharana has passed away at the age of 91

Published

10 mins ago

2026/02/13

Priyan

Former Minister Professor Tissa Vitharana has passed away at the age of 91, according to family sources

Latest News

Buoyant Zimbabwe plot massive upset against depleted Australia

Published

49 mins ago

2026/02/13

Priyan

Brian Bennett was in excellent touch in Zimbabwe's opener [Cricinfo]

After a difficult preparation amid a deepening injury crisis, Australia desperately just wanted to get their tournament started and the off-field distractions did not show during a clinical thrashing of Ireland.

It had started to feel that perhaps Australia’s campaign was cursed before it even began, but they issued a reminder of their depth with spearhead Nathan Ellis stepping up in his return from injury while there were encouraging contributions through a measured batting line-up.

With skipper Mitchell Marsh’s status unclear due to a testicular injury, it’s not exactly smooth sailing just yet for Australia, but they can build momentum and take a significant step forward to the Super Eight stage with another victory in Colombo.

Australia will be heavily favoured but wary against a buoyant Zimbabwe, who enjoyed a successful return to World Cup action by crushing Oman in their opener. Brian Benett underlined his status as a prodigious talent with 48 off 36 balls then, and he will back his aggressive approach in the powerplay against an inexperienced Australia bowling attack.

Zimbabwe do not boast the type of menacing spin options to expose Australia on slower surfaces, but their bustling pace attack will enter confident after rolling Oman over cheaply. This will be a major step up for them, but Zimbabwe should feel excited about playing Australia with contests between these two Full-Member nations rare.

Australia and Zimbabwe have not played one another in any format since an ODI series in northern Queensland in mid-2022. Zimbabwe have been traditionally shunned by Australia although sentiment is starting to shift with the countries set to square off in a three-match ODI series in Zimbabwe later this year. There is also talk of their long Test drought – stretching back to 2003 – finally ending at some point in the next FTP.

To perhaps the surprise of some, Zimbabwe do have the bragging rights at the T20 World Cup, having beaten Australia by five wickets at the first edition in 2007 in their only tournament face-off. It was a historic performance for Zimbabwe against a star-studded Australia side captained by Ricky Ponting and featuring the likes of Adam Gilchrist, Matthew Hayden and Brett Lee.

It must be said that Australia back in those days had relatively scant regard for T20I cricket. Times have certainly changed, with both teams knowing the stakes of this match and the importance of building early tournament momentum.

In 12 innings since the start of the Ashes, Cameron Green has scored at least 17 runs on ten occasions but, bafflingly, his highest score is only 45. Once again, Green started well against Ireland with two sixes in his first ten balls to race to 21 before hitting straight to midwicket. It was a similar theme in Pakistan ahead of the T20 World Cup, where Green was Australia’s standout batter in a wretched series defeat but he just could not kick on. Green, however, is hitting the ball sweetly and looking the goods at No. 3, where his muscular batting is well suited to the powerplay. A belated big score might not be far off.

If Zimbabwe are going to cause a boil over, then their tall pace attack will have to do some damage. Australia’s batters will fancy their chances of counter-attacking, but Blessing Muzarabani looms as a handful given he took three wickets in the powerplay against Oman in his return from injury. He is a versatile bowler, able to menace with full and short deliveries, but he will need to hit the right lengths against Australia’s aggressive top-order.

There remains some unknowns over Australia’s line-up. Marsh is expected to be unavailable and while Steven Smith’s call up has generated plenty of attention, he hasn’t yet been officially added to the squad.

Big-hitter Tim David is getting closer to a return after a hamstring injury suffered in the BBL on Boxing Day. If David is fit, then the spotlight will turn to who he replaces. Matt Renshaw appears to have done enough after a well-compiled 37 off 33 balls against Ireland.

Spin-bowling allrounder Cooper Connolly could be in the selection gun after limited time at the crease batting at No. 7 and he finished with none for 26 from three overs with the ball. If they want to keep Connolly’s bowling versatility then quick Xavier Bartlett could be under pressure after none for 22 from two overs against Ireland. Left-arm quick Ben Dwarshuis is also in the mix.

Australia (probable): Travis Head (capt), Josh Inglis (wk), Cameron Green, Matt Renshaw, Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis, Cooper Connolly/Tim David, Xavier Bartlett/Ben Dwarshuis, Nathan Ellis, Matt Kuhnemann, Adam Zampa

Veteran wicketkeeper-batter Brendan Taylor, who made an unforgettable 60 not out in the 2007 World Cup match between the teams, is a doubtful starter after retiring hurt against Oman. The exact nature of his injury is unknown, but Taylor is most likely to miss this match and is set to be replaced by reserve keeper Clive Madande, who made ducks against Oman and Netherlands in the warm-up games. Zimbabwe could be tempted to include legspinner Graeme Cremer given the favourable conditions.

Zimbabwe (probable): Brian Bennett, Tadiwanashe Marumani, Dion Mayers, Brendan Taylor/Clive Madande (wk), Sikandar Raza (capt), Ryan Burl, Tashinga Musekiwa, Brad Evans, Wellington Masakadza, Richard Ngarava, Blessing Muzarabani

[Cricinfo]

Foreign News

Mexican ships arrive in Cuba with humanitarian cargo amid US oil blockade

Published

1 hour ago

2026/02/13

Priyan

A Mexican-flagged ship, the Papaloapan, arrives in Havana, Cuba, on February 12 loaded with humanitarian supplies [Aljazeera]

Two Mexican ships bearing humanitarian aid have docked in the harbour of Cuba’s capital Havana, as the United States continues its efforts to cut the island off from outside fuel supplies.

On Thursday, pedestrians on Havana’s seawall watched as the ships, one of which was the Papaloapan, unloaded white pallets on shore.

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum addressed the delivery in her morning news conference, promising that more help was on the way.

“We are sending different forms of help, different forms of support,” Sheinbaum said. “Today, the ships arrive. When they return, we are going to send more support of a different type.”

She also described her country’s role as “opening the doors for dialogue to develop” between Cuba and the US, but she insisted that maintaining Cuba’s sovereignty would be paramount among her priorities.

Since January, the administration of US President Donald Trump has sought to cut off the oil supplies that power Cuba’s energy grid and other critical infrastructure.

The campaign is part of a long-running series of sanctions imposed by the US on the Caribbean island nation, stretching back to the Cold War.

But the latest effort, under Trump, has experts at the United Nations warning of an imminent humanitarian “collapse” in Cuba, as oil supplies dwindle.

The oil embargo began on January 3, when Trump authorised a US military operation to attack Venezuela and abduct its then-leader, President Nicolas Maduro, and his wife Cilia Flores.

[Aljazeera]